The Ergonomics of Worker Behavior in Social Hymenoptera

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses ergonomics of worker behavior in social hymenoptera. The chapter discusses on some studies where the function of individual behavior is analyzed. This will illustrate some recurrent problems, but is not intended to cover all of the species. Besides contributing to the understanding of social insect evolution in a more narrow sense, such studies help to identify important constraints set by sociality and physiology. In a case study described, the nectar-collecting behavior of individual honey bees is discussed in relation to economic models and maximization principles, and it is shown that individual workers treat energy expenditure as a limiting factor. Integration of behavior into the colony occurs through its effects on colony growth and reproduction. It is suggested that behavioral strategies of workers reflect a balance between the benefits resulting from their work and the survival costs for the individual. From these observations, the more general hypothesis is formulated that, at least in some species of social insects, selection may have acted to increase the level of sustainable work effort in the workers through the evolution of large physiological machinery. However, major difficulties still exist in linking individual behavior to its fitness consequences. Further progress in the study of social insect behavior is likely to result from developing testable models of social organization that take into account the evolutionary genetics of the group, from the study of various ecological stress factors that influence colony development and reproduction, and from an increased awareness of the importance of their population biology.